Aims: The evaluation of efficacy and effectiveness of psychotherapy is an essential aim of psychotherapy research. This study examined the effectiveness of Existential Analysis/Logotherapy (EA/LT) on mental, physical and interpersonal impairments and on perceived changes in cognitions, emotions, behavior and interpersonal relationships.
Method: To test these aims a retrospective follow-up study was conducted with 26 therapists and 106 of their clients, who had successfully completed or interrupted their therapies. Two evaluation criteria were adopted: an indirect one applying the BSS (Impairment score) before and after therapy, the VEV (“Questionnaire on Changes in Experiencing and Behavior”) and the Change-Scale (“Veränderungs-Skala”, V-Scale) of the patient documentation system “Psycho-Doc”.
Results: It was found that EA/LT led to statistically significant improvements with high to very high effect-sizes in mental, physical and interpersonal impairments from both perspectives, that of the therapist as well as that of their patients. Additionally, there were positive clinically significant changes in VEV in approximately 90% of the sample in emotions, cognitions and behavior. However, in the V-Scale patients reported higher positive changes just for cognitive and emotional symptom areas. Changes in interpersonal relationships and in daily living were perceived as less intensive. No changes were perceived in the consumption of alcohol and nicotine and in medical variables such as consultation of physicians. Persons who completed therapy successfully were much more effective in the BSS-dimension mental and interpersonal impairment than clients who terminated their therapies prematurely, but they did not differ from those in changes in physical impairments and in self-rated changes in cognitions, emotions, behaviors and relationships measured by VEV and the V-Scale.
Discussion: The results of the present study indicate high effectiveness of Existential Analysis and Logotherapy in therapeutic praxis. Therefore, outcome quality of this method seems to be high. However, some limitations of the study have to be mentioned, such as the small sample-size and problems in the representativeness of the sample as well as retrospectiveness in data gathering. These topics are discussed at the end of the paper.
Keywords: Existential Analysis and Logotherapy, consumer-study, practice research, psychotherapy research, quality assurance, effectiveness

For a coach in practice it is substantial, that coaching approaches are applicable whilst standing on a theoretical foundation which grasps the human being in a holistic manner, and that connections to other schools of thought are possible. These requirements of coaching practice are taken into account by the theoretical and application-oriented background of Alfried Längle`s concept of the fundamental motivations: the anthropological framework, the practical access to existence, the establishment of a positive conception of the human, and methods working with the personal resources. This contribution demonstrates the application of the baselines from the theory on the existential motivation of man using the example of two situations from coaching practice and concludes with reflections on a basic approach towards Existential Coaching.
Keywords: Existential Analysis, Existential Coaching, fundamental motivations

Organizational development with approaches to Existential Analysis

Marianne Grobner

Since 40 years, the Management Center Vorarlberg advises und assists organizations in change projects. Always crucial to success for a consultancy firm is to what extent projects are sustainably implemented.
Based on our understanding of consultancy, this can only succeed if we manage to set free strength and energy in people and organizations in order to guarantee meaning- and value-oriented development. But can a consultant set strength and energy free at all? What should they begin with? What role does the consultant play in the process?
I wish to describe this working method in greater detail and give our answers to these questions using the organizational model of the Management Center Vorarlberg and a case study.
Keywords: authenticity, understanding of consultancy, meaningful guidance, fundamental motivations, intuition, organization development

Experiencing meaning and burnout prophylaxis
From the perspective of resource management and Existential Analysis

Gerda Meier Kernen und Hans Kernen

Within an existential analytical framework burnout can be understood as a deficit of experiencing existential meaning. Alfried Längle’s respective theses serve as a starting point of this article. The authors relate his view to the salutogenetic approach of resource management. This approach focuses on the long-term health balance in the context of managing one’s daily life and on the complex process of balancing subjectively experienced strain and currently available resources – which is especially critical for the working population. An earlier scientific study identified the resources within the work environment which possess the biggest impact in fostering health and performance as well as in preventing burnout. Based on this study 4’170 records have been generated over the last years which are now being analyzed and evaluated (preliminary results). The analysis supports the thesis that experiencing too little existential meaning increases the risk of burnout. Using case studies the interaction of resource management and existential analysis is described. As a conclusion it becomes clear that not only the individual and dialogical dimension impact the process of well-being but that also the organizational-cultural aspects of the organization have to be taken into account.
Key words: Burnout-prevention, resource management, salutogenesis, meaning

The contribution of Existential Analysis to leadership and organizational development – experience gained from practice

Stefan Marti

The article provides an overview of the application of Existential Analysis (EA) in the field of leadership and organizational development. It highlights the questions currently preoccupying the world of management and how Existential Analysis can make a contribution. The main focus of the article is to concretely demonstrate the fundamental capacities and concepts of Existential Analysis for the management world.
Keywords: leadership, organizational development, management, self-Management

Developing leadership principles

Robert Bachfischer

The following script demonstrates the development of leadership principles in a non-profit organization. The concept of the four fundamental motivations was taken as a basis. An underlying management philosophy needed for this purpose is shortly outlined. The depiction of the four fundamental motivations is modified for the process of developing leadership principles.
Keywords: management philosophy, fundamental motivations, leadership

A glimpse behind the facts
Phenomenology in business consulting

Helmut Hohengartner

Consequent business consulting is based on a consistent philosophy of consulting with an underlying specific anthropology. If the business consultant goes beyond a mere provision of information and animation to devote himself to the very existential situation of the client in order to empower them to cope with difficult situations, the consultant has to face the client’s person. For this a phenomenological attitude is of great importance. On the basis of consultation case studies the author intends to point out how the personal approach can successfully be practiced in the sober and impersonal setting of business consulting.
Key words: business consulting, phenomenology, coaching, meaning finding method

Management and Existential Analysis
Decision-making and a case study on working in teams

Jürgen Baumann

The first part of this article is basically concerned with a master thesis I wrote last autumn. The title was: Management and Existential Analysis, on decision making and with a glance at the perspective of the sociological systems theory. In the second part I present the summary of a case study on team development in which I worked on the basis of the four fundamental motivations.
Keywords: decision, freedom, fundamental motivations, management, Person

“Work as an admission ticket to a good life”
Experience report from programs for promoting working ability through work design

Irene Kloimüller

Maintaining working ability of employees is a central challenge for the future. Higher working ability means longer working life, better health, higher quality of life – also after retirement – and greater quality and productivity within the company.
Promoting working ability is therefore a win-win-win situation, for those affected, for the enterprise and for the national economy.
In Austria two major programs have been launched: “Fit for the future – maintaining work ability” (completed February 2013); and “fit2work-business consultancy” (started 2012). The programs support enterprises in designing working conditions in a work ability promoting manner.
Keywords: working ability, humanization of work, values in labor, coaching/OE, increasing quality of life

Existential Analysis and organizational development

Rainer Kinast und Alexander Milz

Existential Analysis can make a significant contribution to the further development of enterprises and organizations with its theoretical understanding of the person and organization. For this cause there is no necessity for a new universal theory of organizational development, since there are more than enough of them already. Within the contemporary understanding of organizational development, the authors consider it as their task to establish the theoretical basis for a better targeted application of the strengths of existential analytical thought as well as its methods for processes of change.
Today`s understanding of organizational development is outlined at the beginning. Then the specifics of existential analytically based organizational development are worked out. Starting point is the consultancy need of enterprises determined by the authors, embedded in substantial theoretical existential analytical basics and translated into the context of organizational development.
Finally, topics concerning organizational development are presented, which are highly suited for an existential analytical organizational development according to the authors.
Keywords: organizational development, Existential Analysis